The Day I Saw You
by NonsensicalCheshire
Summary: Five blissful years. That's all that they had together. It was far too little. / / Byasana oneshot


A/N: I love Byahisa. I love it so very much. Therefore, I had to write this.

* * *

She was astonishing from the first moment he saw her.

Every part of her entranced him, from her tangled and dirty hair to her dirt-covered and pale skin.

It's a fond memory for Byakuya, the day he saw her. The Clan Elders were taking him out for a stroll in the Rukongai, prattling on about how this is why he should be grateful to be a Kuchiki, blah blah blah. Young Byakuya rolled his eyes. He could do without this; he knew how privileged he was to live inside the Sereitei already.

"Excuse me, sir."

He wouldn't have payed any sort of heed to the conversation if the voice hadn't been so sweet. Byakuya's head swiveled around and he caught sight a woman, glaring up at a man a foot or so taller than her. She was small and was standing on her tiptoes to make herself seem taller. The kimono she wore was patched and filthy, the obi fraying at the ends.

The man glared back down. "What?"

The elders tried to pull Byakuya along. Oh, couldn't they see he was watching?

Puffing out her chest, the woman stood her ground against the brute. She pointed a thin finger at a boy behind her, who was trembling and looking at the man in fear. "That loaf of bread was his. I must ask that you return it to him."

Byakuya saw a small loaf no bigger than his fist clenched in the man's beefy, strong hands. Brutey (as he had named him in his mind) tossed back his head and laughed. When he was done, a palm came up and swatted her across the face so hard she stumbled.

And the most astonishing thing happened: She punched him back.

The Elders were now highly annoyed and were pleading with Byakuya-sama to follow them and to not- oh, please, Byakuya-sama, please don't get involved with the commoners, they pleaded as he stepped forward.

The woman had not cowered when Brutey raised his fist for a blow much harsher than the slap. It took only one hand for Byakuya to stop him. It must have been the sight of his nice, pristine clothes that sent him cowering; or maybe it was the spiritual pressure he was pressing down on Brutey.

Either way, it solved the problem.

Byakuya bent down and picked up the loaf that had been dropped and brushed the dust off it. He stepped past the woman and offered it to the boy, the rightful owner, then straightened up, brushing his clothing free of dirt.

"Um, thank you, sir," the woman said, catching his arm. She thought he was going to wander off without letting her thank him; silly girl.

Much to the Elder's dismay, he responded with a deep bow and smile. "It was my pleasure. Can I ask for your name?"

Stifling what could have been a giggle, she bowed back. "Hisana."

"Byakuya Kuchiki."

* * *

Much was Hisana's surprise when she found Byakuya wandering the woods in the district. He looked lost and was pacing, looking left and right. When he caught sight of her, he smiled. She stared stupidly.

"Byakuya-sama?" Her mouth gaped. Never had she thought she'd see the handsome nobel again. "Why are you wandering in the woods?"

He tugged a strand of black hair, looking a bit pouty. "Um, well, I… desired to see Hisana-san again. So I-" He coughed, abashed and blushing. "-er, snuck out."

Her basket of peaches she'd been carrying, her food supply for the next week, dropped. A nobel? See her? She was a commoner from the one of the worst parts of the Soul Society! Hisana's face betrayed doubt, most certainly, because he blushed more and held out a fistful of flowers she hadn't noticed.

"Th-th-these are for you!" he said, turning his head. He'd never courted someone before, much less a peasant.

Like he might be offering her a bomb, Hisana inched forward and plucked the flowers out of his hand, then inched back only a bit. She stared down at the magnolias. The violet eyes wandered back up to Byakuya and she smiled a bit.

"How… sweet."

That began their nightly meetings that took place whenever he could sneak out of the Sereitei. He would take her out shopping if he could sneak during the day, but that was rarely. Mostly he liked to teach her how to read and write, which she already had a basic knowledge of.

Eventually, he proposed to her. Of course, when he presented her to the Elders, they were furious. The clan was already unstable, since Byakuya's father and grandfather had recently died, leaving him the head of the family and soon to be captain of Squad Six.

"This is absurd!" raved one bushy-haired old man. "A noble cannot marry a commoner!"

An old lady to his right pitched in, saying, "Th-th-that's certainly r-r-right. You m-must marry another noble."

Hisana was looking down. Clearly she was thinking that being presented before the Elder's was a terrible idea. Byakuya was inwardly agreeing. Talking to them about it without her, where she couldn't hear them insulting her repeatedly, was much kinder.

He crossed his arms, as stubborn as ever. "I will marry Hisana."

"Byakuya-sama-"

"I will leave this clan."

That brought on the wanted silence. He breathed and Hisana squeezed his arm.

"For Hisana, I will leave this family and let it rot. Is that what you want, Honored Elders?"

They mumbled amongst themselves for an hour or two while they waited outside, and finally consented, with obvious disgust on their faces, for the two to get married. She yelled with joy and threw her arms around him, nearly tackling him to the ground. The Elders rolled their eyes.

* * *

"So, this is the lucky little lady?"

Byakuya sucked in a breath, holding it. He recognized that voice and the chuckle that accompanied it. "Kyoraku-san. Ukitake-san."

A pale, pale hand came down and ruffled his hair. Ukitake was smiling ear to ear and had an arm around Hisana's shoulders. "You're quite beautiful, Miss. Byakuya got very, very lucky."

Hisana looked delighted and laughed, patting Ukitake on the arm. "You're too kind, sir. How do you do?"

Everyone who met Hisana quite liked her, especially Kyoraku and Ukitake. They hardly left the couple's sides, always accompanying them and laughing, poking fun at Byakuya like embarrassing uncles. He was happy that the Cat Demon was no longer with them. The teasing would've been tenfold.

* * *

When Hisana started coughing badly, Unohana told him she didn't have more than a year left. Against his better judgement, he grabbed the doctor, demanding she cure her, perform surgery, help her do something do anything please please please. Unohana just grabbed his hand, her scary smile melting. She told him there was nothing. Hisana would die and leave him.

His wife didn't help much by heading out into the Rukongai at least twice a week, where she would breath in dirty air, dust, germs, and get roughed up occasionally. But no matter how he pleaded, Hisana wouldn't stop.

"I have to find Rukia," she insisted. "I can't forgive myself until I do."

He watched her grow more and more ill until she couldn't walk well anymore. She stayed in bed most of the day, but she would smile whenever he came to see her. They'd read books and do puzzles to take their minds off things, but they'd always remember when they had to pause so she could cough up congealed blood.

"Byakuya-sama," she said on her last day. "Please, please find Rukia. But when you do, don't tell her I'm her sister. I don't deserve that."

His throat tightened and he swallowed hard, gripping her pale little hand tighter. "Hisana-"

She squeezed him back. "She can call you her brother, Byakuya-sama. Will you do that for me?"

"… Yes."

"These five years with you have been like a dream." She smiled weakly. "I'm sorry that I could never repay you, Byakuya-sama."

And she closed her eyes.

And she smiled.

And he watched the last breath leave her body.

And he wanted to scream.

He remembered the day he first say her five years ago, standing in front of a little boy and staring down a brute so much bigger than her.

_ComebackcomebackcomebackIcan'tdoanythingwithoutyou Iloveyoucomeback_

And then he did scream.


End file.
